History

Sites

Te Ara - Encyclopedia of New Zealand: In Māori, Te Ara means 'the pathway'. Through interlinking text and image trails, the Encyclopedia takes you on a journey of discovery. Beginning with the theme of Peoples, it will eventually present a comprehensive guide to New Zealand - its natural environment, history, culture, economics and government.
New Zealand Gazette Archive: New Zealand Gazette Archive comprises searchable and browsable PDF (portable document format) copies of issues of the New Zealand Gazette and related publications from 1841. Published by LexisNexis.
Access this at any of our libraries.
An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand: Edited by A.H. McLintock and published in 1966. For many subjects it remains a valuable source. The contents have not been corrected or updated for publication online. Digitised as part of the Te Ara - Encyclopedia of New Zealand Project.
History @ Te Puna Web Directory: Links to New Zealand organisations and information.
1835 Declaration of Independence He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni: This is an international declaration signed on 28 October 1835 which recognises the sovereignty of the Independent Tribes of New Zealand. It was the forerunner of the Treaty of Waitangi and has a flag to symbolise tribal rights to trade as independent nations. Presented by Waitangi Associates. In Te Reo Maori and English.
The 1918 Flu Pandemic: New Zealand's worst disease outbreak, the lethal influenza pandemic of 1918. In two months New Zealand lost about half as many people to influenza as it had in the whole of the First World War. From nzhistory.net
1951 waterfront dispute: The waterfront dispute of 1951 was the biggest industrial confrontation in New Zealand’s history. Although it was not as violent as the Great Strike of 1913, it lasted longer — 151 days, from February to July — and involved more workers. From nzhistory.net
AtoJs Online: This website contains digitised reports from selected volumes of the Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives.
Auckland street names: Auckland City Libraries' database Auckland City Street Names thus attempts to present verified information as to the origins of names, dates of formation, and any name changes for all streets within the boundaries of the Auckland City Council. All Auckland City Council area street names are included in the Auckland City Street Names index. Older streets in Mangere, Manurewa, North Shore, Papatoetoe or Waitakere, are listed in seperate databases.
'Black Tuesday': The 1912 Waihi strike: On 'Black Tuesday', 12 November 1912, in the midst of a bitter six-month strike by miners in the small New Zealand goldmining town of Waihi, striker Fred Evans was killed - one of only two fatalities in an industrial dispute in New Zealand's history. From nzhistory.net
A Brief History of Auckland Auckland: A Brief History of Auckland City written by Graham Bush. Covering the period 1840 to 1998, this history also includes a selected Auckland City chronology, a list of Mayors and statistics for City and Metropolitan population.
A Brief History of Invercargill Invercargill: From the Invercargill City Council. Includes images of historic buildings.
Brief history of New Zealand: from Pure NZ
British Parliamentary Papers. Colonies: New Zealand: The British Parliamentary Papers represent a significant source of important and largely untapped information about New Zealand in the mid-nineteenth century. They comprise reports, statutes, correspondence and other documentation sent between the Colony and the Government in Britain and cover all aspects of life and events in the colony at the time. From University of Waikato Library.
Canterbury Heritage: Social history and cultural heritage studies of Christchurch and Canterbury.
Children and Adolescents in New Zealand 1930-1960: The family and child welfare as well as the rise of the teenager during the mid-century decades. From nzhistory.net
Christchurch before 1850 : inner-city and coastal heritage trails Christchurch: The first peoples: Waitaha to European in Christchurch. Inner-city and coastal heritage trails
Christchurch Chronology: A timeline of Christchurch events in chronological order from pre-European times to 1989. Includes this week in history,
Clipper ships & naval war history: Includes lists of arrivals to New Zealand, ship terms and history.
The Colonial View: Watercolours from the Fletcher Trusts Art Collection. With an overview essay on New Zealand colonial painting and painters.
The Daily Grind: Wellington Cafe Culture 1920-2000: The rise of Wellington's coffee scene. Produced by the Masters in Public History students, Victoria University of Wellington). From nzhistory.net
Down to the Wire: The story of New Zealand’s Internet, and how it has changed our nation since 1989. Features video interviews with more than 50 Internet personalities and players and music from each year from Flying Nun Records.
Early Christchurch: Fact sheets about the early European colonisation of Christchurch and some of its most famous personalities. From Christchurch City Libraries.
The Electronic Journal of Australian and New Zealand History: Peer reviewed journal on the history and culture of Australia and New Zealand, supported by the James Cook University.
The Exploration of New Zealand: Introductions and links to information about early Polynesian and European explorers as well as explorers of the New Zealand interior.
From nzhistory.net
Explore Historic Christchurch - City of Gothic Proportions Christchurch: A walking guide to 28 historic Christchurch buildings.
The First Four Ships: A project by The Press, Christchurch, to identify and gather information on the passengers of The First Four Ships to colonise Christchurch and Canterbury.
Harmonizing my starting place: Charles Brasch, patron, poet and collector: This exhibition celebrates the life and legacy of Charles Orwell Brasch (1909-1973), the Dunedin-born man who formed much of New Zealand's artistic and literary tradition by his twenty-year editorship of Landfall, New Zealand's premier literary magazine. Online exhibition from Otago University
Hawaii Pacific Journal Index: From the University of Hawaii at Manoa who have selectively indexed over 50 titles. Titles indexed include: Archaeology in New Zealand, The Journal of the Polynesian Society, and New Zealand Journal of History.
He Tirohanga Ki Muri A view of the past: He tirohanga ki muri ~ A view of the past is an attempt to capture and convey a selection of Maori heritage materials from the Hocken Library, which not only speak of important events and relationships, but also acknowledge the mana, (prestige, dignity and authority) of our ancestors through the words and wisdom they have left behind. Online exhibition from Otago University
Heritage New Zealand magazine: Selected articles. From the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
Historic Akaroa: photographs and information about the history of Akaroa. From the Akaroa Civic Trust
Historic Auckland: The website of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, Pouhere Taonga.
Historic Lyttelton Buildings: This is a continuing series of articles written by local Lyttelton historian Liza Rossie some of which have been previously published in the 'Akaroa Mail' newspaper.
History of Christchurch Cinemas
A History of the Vote in New Zealand: Tracing the evolution of voting and democracy in New Zealand.
Home Away From 'Home': British and Irish Immigration to New Zealand, 1840-1914: A statistical, historical profile of English, Irish and Scottish immigrants to New Zealand, 1840-1914. From nzhistory.net
Horowhenua Historical Database
IPENZ Engineering Heritage: IPENZ has an active programme for the identification and promotion of New Zealand’s engineering heritage. The objective of this Heritage Programme is to inspire and teach present and future generations about New Zealand’s engineering heritage by preserving the legacy of the past through its identification, maintenance and promotion.
Journal of the Polynesian Society, 1892 - 1905: The early issues of the Journal contain a rich repository of indigenous texts and traditions contributed by Pacific peoples, as well as by missionaries and other sojourners, often published in local languages with English translations. Currently has 1892 - 1905 online.
Ko Tawa: Taonga From Our Ancestral Landscapes: Ko Tawa is designed to bridge past and present: to make these unique taonga accessible to young Māori growing up away from their home-marae communities, whilst also providing all visitors with an insight into the contemporary world of the Māori. Includes images and descriptions of taonga. From the collection of Gilbert Mair at Auckland Museum
Labour Day - a history: Celebrated on the fourth Monday in October, Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day. The first Labour Day in New Zealand was celebrated on 28 October 1890, when several thousand trade union members and supporters attended parades in the main centres. From nzhistory.net
Labour History Project - formerly the Trade Union History Project (TUHP): The Trade Union History Project was founded in 1987 by a number of concerned historians and trade unionists to both encourage and promote trade union history and to attempt to save trade union archives
Literature in New Zealand 1930-1960: Explore the context of the flowering of New Zealand literature. From nzhistory.net
Little Histories: This publication sets out some of the stories behind the Births, Deaths and Marriages registers. Author Megan Hutching, of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, profiles seven people who have worked closely with the registers. They describe the evolution of record keeping from beautiful old books, painstakingly handwritten, to computerised data systems that can search millions of records and verify the details of any particular one. Little Histories also contains some fascinating images. Among the book’s illustrations are some pictures of the earliest registers from as far back as the 1840s, published for the first time.
Living Heritage Tikanga Tuku Iho: An online bilingual initiative that enables New Zealand schools to develop and publish an online resource, based on a heritage treasure in their community
Long Journey for Sevenpence: This feature is based on Long Journey for Sevenpence: Assisted Immigration to New Zealand from the United Kingdom 1947-1975 by Megan Hutching. It records the experiences of some of the 77,000 women, children and men who came from Great Britain to New Zealand between 1947 and 1975 under the assisted immigration scheme. From nzhistory.net
Lost Christchurch: A website that aims to provides an opportunity ‘to grieve for and treasure the lost Victorian and Edwardian elegance, charm and irreplaceable ambience which permeated our streets’.
The Māori - Volume one: By Elsdon Best. This sketch of pre-European Māori life by the early NZ anthropologist is based on the author's research notebooks dating back to the 1870s. Digitised by New Zealand Electronic Text Centre.
Manukau's journey - a Manukau timeline: Manukau's journey - a Manukau timeline is a selection of significant and representative events from the history of Manukau City and adjoining areas.
Maori and the Vote: Tracing the evolution of Maori voting and democracy in New Zealand
Maritime Archaeological Association of NZ (MAANZ)
Navy Museum
New Zealand Cartoon Archive: Official website of the archive held in the Alexander Turnbull Library at the the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington.
New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, 1939-40: From nzhistory.net
New Zealand Coastal Shipping: Enthusiasts' web site which traces the history of coastal shipping around New Zealand. Illustrated and features information about coastal shipping in Canterbury.
New Zealand Historic Places Trust Pouhere Taonga: Keeps New Zealand's heritage places alive and useful. Recognition, protection and promotion of New Zealand's historic and cultural heritage.
New Zealand History: An eclectic collection of information on New Zealand history, including the arrival of the Māori, The Musket Wars, and the Moriori.
New Zealand History Timeline: A month by month break down of events in New Zealand history with links provided for further information. From nzhistory.net
New Zealand Maritime Index: An index of published articles about ships, organisations and maritime personnel. Produced by the New Zealand National Maritime Museum
New Zealand Maritime Record - Ship Index: The New Zealand Maritime Record contains detailed illustrated histories of about 50 vessels which have strong New Zealand connections.
The New Zealand Natives' rugby tour of 1888/89: The story of the first New Zealand representative sports team to tour Britain, and the context in which they lived and played rugby. From nzhistory.net
New Zealand Parliament History: Parliament’s history from its very beginnings.
New Zealand Politics Timeline: A timeline of political firsts produced by Christchurch City Libraries.
New Zealand Statistical Publication 1840-2000: Statistical Publications 1840 - 2000 brings together a historical record of the publications of Statistics New Zealand and those antecedent organisations that have been responsible for national statistics since the mid-19th century.
New Zealand Women and the Vote: Suffrage and Beyond: A history of the suffragist movement in New Zealand, the first country in the world to grant women the vote in 1893.
From nzhistory.net
No Pavlova Please: food in the 20th century: Glimpses into New Zealand's changing food and drink culture in the twentieth century. Includes historical sound files of our most famous radio announcer, Aunt Daisy. From nzhistory.net
Northern Steam Ship Company: History of the company from the Maritime Museum
Nuclear Free New Zealand.: A quick history of the nuclear free movement in New Zealand. Topics include nuclear testing in the Pacific, nuclear ship visits, the adoption of nuclear free zone legislation and the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior in July 1985. From nzhistory.net
NZ Marine History: from the New Zealand Shipping and Marine Society
nzhistory.net.nz: Aims to be the first port of call for information on New Zealand history. Co-ordinated by the History Group of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
The Olympics: New Zealand's Olympians - almost 1000 of them - have produced plenty of memorable moments over the years, but the Games have also been marred by boycotts, controversy and tragedy. From nzhistory.net
Online Poll Tax Records: Access to the remaining legible Poll Tax payer records compiled by Customs officials about Chinese immigrants to New Zealand. They were collected at the Port of Wellington 1888-1930. Published by New Zealand's Office of Ethnic Affairs.
Protest and reform: Overview of major protest movements in New Zealand from Labour Day to Temperance to Homosexual law reform. From New Zealand History online.
From nzhistory.net
Our Land, Our People: Snapshots of New Zealand History. From the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Our Picturesque Heritage: 100 Years of Scenery Preservation in New Zealand: An insight into New Zealand's unique environment and heritage.
From nzhistory.net
Out and About - Homosexual Law Reform in NZ.: The Homosexual Law Reform Act was passed 20 years ago; no longer would men having consensual sex with each other be liable to prosecution and a term of imprisonment. Created this feature in conjunction with Radio New Zealand who are broadcasting a documentary - 20 Years Out! From nzhistory.net
Overview thematic history of Christchurch: The Christchurch City Contextual History Overview, an historic report which "slices" Christchurch up into the historic themes of Life in the City, The Built City, and Industry and Commerce. The report provides a broad overview and understanding of the city and its development in the last 150 years, which is pivotal for the future identifying and managing of heritage in Christchurch.
Polynesian mythology and ancient traditional history of the New Zealand race: By Sir George Grey. Digitised by New Zealand Electronic Text Centre.
The Prow - Stories from the Top of the South Island: The Prow is a 'one-stop-shop' for concise, fact-filled stories about the history and culture of Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman. Subjects include people, events, places, enterprise, society, arts and Maori. Additional resources available in libraries, museums or online are listed to aid in further reading or research.
Railway stations: From nzhistory.net
Rangiātea - Ko ahau te huarahi te pono me te ora: Rangiātea church, New Zealand's oldest Māori church, was utterly destroyed by fire in October 1995. The current website has evolved from the 1997 exhibition of the same name, and its subsequent publication, celebrating Rangiātea, and the Vestry’s, commitment to rebuilding the church.
Rarangi Taonga: the Register of Historic Places, Historic Areas, Wahi Tapu and Wahi Tapu Areas: National schedule of New Zealand’s treasured heritage places. From the Historic Places Trust.
Richard Pearse: The first New Zealander to fly - very briefly. Includes virtual fliable plane!
From nzhistory.net
The School of Radiant Living in New Zealand (1938-1989): An alternative lifestyle and health movement which counted Sir Edmund Hillary among its adherents. Includes recipes, the 'elimination diet' and an interview with the movement's founder, Herbert Sutcliffe.
From nzhistory.net
The Southern Districts of New Zealand: By Edward Shortland. Based on journals written while he was employed as a "Protector of Native Interests" by the colonial government in the 1840s, this book is an interesting account of his travels and dealings with local Māori and Pakeha, and concludes with a short appendix; "Vocabulary Of The 'Kaitahu' Dialect" Digitised by New Zealand Electronic Text Centre.
Sport in New Zealand 1930-1960: This period saw an increase in mass participation in sport, the consolidation of many national competitions, and greater achievement at international level.
nzhistory.net
Streets database Auckland: Auckland Museum has undertaken an ambitious task to record all Auckland streets, along with the hundred or so new Auckland streets created each year. They are recording the location of each, along with background information such as when the street was established, how it got its name, who lived there and what buildings or other features and event are connected with it. Where possible we are adding relevant images from the Museum's pictorial and other collections, and have references to sources in the Museum Library or other institutions.
Tī Kōuka Whenua - Tī Kōuka: A symbol for our city: local Māori history of Christchurch and surrounding area.
Tarawera: Online documentary about the Tarawera eruption and the loss of the Pink and White Terraces. From NZ on Screen.
Te Kakano Taonga Database: Welcome to the knowledge basket of Te Kakano A basket that embraces the descendants of the pacific people. A basket that explains the Pacific world to all people. Cross the threshold, and gather stories of both the Maori and Pacific peoples.
Technological Innovation in New Zealand: History of technology in New Zealand. From the development of hydro-electric schemes to the Hamilton Jet, it has wide coverage, references are given and it even covers current innovations.
Timeframes: Timeframes includes selected New Zealand and Pacific images from the collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library, the research library within the National Library of New Zealand.
Timeline - A brief history of women in New Zealand: The Timeline provides a brief history of women in New Zealand. From the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
Toroa Preservation Society Inc.
The Wandering Artist: Augustus Earle's Travels Around The World 1820-29. Online exhibition from National Library of Australia
We Call it Home: A History of State Housing in New Zealand: For one hundred years the state has provided housing for tens of thousands of New Zealanders unable to afford a home of their own. Just about all of us know someone who grew up in a state house, yet we know little of their individual stories. This exhibition provides an historical overview of the subject including some of the stories of state house tenants, historical film and sound clips and a wealth of historical and recent images. From nzhistory.net
Wellington Local History database: Index of newspaper articles, dating back to the 1940s when the clipping and indexing of local newspapers first began at the Libraries. It covers a vast number of topics relating to the history and development of Wellington City and the surrounding region.
Women's suffrage: Information from the National Archives which hold the original copies of the petition. The first page can be viewed digitally.
Women's Suffrage Petition Database: This database is a digitised version of the main suffrage petition submitted to Parliament in 1893. The name and address fields represent what appeared on the original sheets. The Suburb/Town and City/Region fields have been added to provide consistent information about the signatories location.

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